Top Cop Talks Tough In Tokyo

Chicago`s Martin Says Drug Trade Won`t Overlook Japan

June 15, 1990|By Ronald E. Yates, Chicago Tribune.

TOKYO — Chicago`s police superintendent delivered a tough message to Japan`s top business leaders: If Japan doesn`t contribute more to fighting the roots of drug addiction and crime in American cities like Chicago, it will find itself isolated and without help when similar problems come to Japan.

``Japan already has a negative image in the United States, an image that it is buying America,`` said Supt. Leroy Martin. ``Japanese corporations like Mitsubishi and NEC can do a lot to change that image by making bold commitments to the inner city of Chicago instead of running to the suburbs with their factories.``

Martin`s speech Wednesday to Japan`s Council of Better Corporate Citizenship and members of the Federation of Economic Organizations served as a warning that they cannot survive in a vacuum.

Japan is wrong, he said, to think it is isolated from the problems of drug addiction and crime.

``When a guy can go to sleep on a plane in Chicago and wake up in Tokyo, you are no longer isolated,`` said Martin. ``Although America is one of the major customers of illegal drugs, countries like Japan which do not view America`s problem as a potential problem for themselves will soon discover that they have made a serious mistake.

``A commitment to impacting crime in America is a commitment to impacting crime in Japan. The leadership and knowledge that Japan displayed in restoring its economy after World War II must be duplicated in assisting its American partner in restoring its quality of life and value system to one of health and integrity.``

Japan, which two years ago surpassed the U.S. in per capita income, has recently started trying to deal with the first stages of illicit drug traffic. Japan`s homegrown yakuza, or organized crime groups, recently have begun forging alliances with the Colombian drug cartel in preparation for what some police officials fear will be a drug flood in the next several years.

``I can`t see the Colombian drug cartel bypassing Japan-even if they have to buy a fleet of submarines to bring in their drugs,`` said Martin.

Though Japan`s violent crime and drug-related offenses are still minuscule when contrasted with the U.S., officials here admit that Japan`s immense wealth is becoming a beacon for criminals and drug traffickers.

The officials, who once viewed Japan`s ``homogeneous`` racial and cultural character as the main deterrent to crime, now are grappling with unprecedented illegal immigration.

At the same time, as more and more Japanese manufacturers continue to expand their operations to other nations they are finding themselves forced to become sensitive to the social problems indigenous to those nations.

In the last few years, 470 Japanese firms have set up offices in Illinois, 84 of which are involved in manufacturing. Illinois is second only to California in the U.S. as a magnet for Japanese investment.

But simply pouring money into Chicago is not the answer either, said Martin.

``It`s not just a question of money,`` he said. ``There must be a physical commitment to the inner city. Japanese firms that think they can escape the crime and poverty and drugs of the inner city by setting up in the suburbs are mistaken. Drugs are following money to the suburbs.``

Those who listened to Martin`s message largely agreed with his assessment of Japanese corporate responsibility, but some wondered why more American firms were not making a greater commitment to Chicago`s South and West Sides. ``It is, after all, America, and one would think that American corporations might feel some community responsibility to help rebuild these inner city disaster areas,`` said Osaka businessman Kiyohiko Nakai.